Only Once
by Twelf Bell
Summary: Prequel to The Angel You Were. Ayase is once again involved in one of Kanou-san's business fights. Character death. Implied shonen-ai / yaoi ; as expected of No Money.
1. One Sparkling Ring

**Title:** Only Once**  
Author: **Twelf Bell**  
Type of Fanfic: **Regular fanfic**  
Summary:** Prequel to The Angel You Were. Ayase is once again involved in one of Kanou-san's business fights. Character death. Implied shonen-ai / yaoi ; as expected of No Money.**  
----Pairing: **Kanou/Ayase**  
Disclaimer: **I do not own No Money / Okane ga Nai, but I do own my ideas.

**Warning: **It's rated T for a reason. There is **coarse foul language and boys love**. This is also a No Money fanfic after all. You should know how Kanou-san acts.. right?

**A/N:** I wrote this after writing _The Angel You Always Were_. I decided to make a prequel in case anyone was wondering what happened. You can read this first or _The Angel You Always Were _first. Doesn't matter either way. And to all my xxxHOLiC fanfic readers out there, I'm not writing a prequel to _Stricken Love_. Sorry ~ **//;SEi**

**- - - - - - - - - - - - CHAPTER 1: ONE SPARKLING RING**

"Kanou-san, Kanou-san!" Ayase called for the brown-haired man before he reached the boss' office. This little blond boy was surprisingly very energetic today. As he reached out for the doorknob that opened to Kanou's office, he called his lover's name again. "_Kanou-san!_"

Hearing his name, the man turned his chair around from the window and stood up as Ayase came barging in, past the Kuba twins who were still in the middle of their work – telling Kanou what his schedule was for the day.

"Ayase," he said, calmly. He was actually really quite surprised because Ayase was really never this worked up before – except when it had to do with saving people from life and death... - and this new figure interested him. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

The blond slammed his hands on the desk and yelled, "Is it true that your birthday is next week?!"

Kanou's eyes widened at the sudden outburst of action and the question. _My birthday?_ He thought for a moment, cupping his chin and holding his elbow – his thinking position. _Hmm..._ He glanced at the calendar on his desk. "Come to think of it.. my birthday _is_ next week."

"R-Really?!" Ayase's blue eyes grew wide with anticipation and wonder. It was as if he were a little kid seeing a rainbow for the first time in his life. It was as if his eyes had never turned cold as ice or as sad as the sea.

The brown-haired man smiled at how Ayase was acting. With his smile still plastered on his face, he said, "Yeah."

Ayase stood up from his slamming-of-the-table and stared at Kanou's smile for a few minutes – since it was a rare sight - and then smiled himself. "Then, would it be alright if I got you a present?"

_Present?_ _Now that's a word that I haven't heard in a while._ "Yeah, but are you sure?"

The blond held his hands behind his back and blushed. "Y-Yes, I am."

"Don't waste too much money on me. I won't like it if you do. No one wastes money on me anyway."

_Liar_, thought the Kuba twins.

"And um, Kanou-san... do you have anything you specifically like? Dislike? Or... possibly want?"

"Hmm..." The man thought for a moment. _What I want...? Isn't the answer obvious. It's _that_._ "I guess I like cute stuff. I don't like sweet things... though it would be fine if it were your lovely juice from sucking y--"

But Ayase was already halfway to the door. He hadn't heard Kanou's last statement after his short pause. He only heard "I like cute stuff" and "I don't like sweet things." He opened the door and stepped out, his head still in view. "Thanks, Kanou-san!" And with that, his head disappeared from view and the door closed.

Kanou stood there looking dumbfounded and as if he were struck by lightning. He collapsed onto his chair and sighed. "What I want the most in the world is for Ayase to tell me he loves me."

_Yes, we know that, Boss,_ thought the Kuba twins.

**X O X 5 D A Y S L A T E R ; E V E N I N G X O X**

Ayase was quiet. The only sound that was heard in the room was the ticking of the clock that hung on the wall. His mind was a disaster though. It was very noisy, and once in a while, his thinking would get the best of him and he would unconsciously say something aloud. _There's two more days until Kanou-san's birthday... and I still can't figure out what to give him!_ He sighed. _Should I get him flowers? Does that count as sweet?_ Ayase held his head like it was about to burst. He groaned aloud and closed his eyes. Stripes suddenly came into mind and he opened his eyes. "A tie..." _How about a tie? A tie with some little chicks on them? _He nodded. _He said he likes cute things.. but.. _He squinted his eyes, thinking. _I don't know! _He sighed. _Maybe I'm thinking too much on this? Yes, that's right. I have to calm myself down and figure it out. There's two days left. It's almost July 24th. I have enough time.. I have enough time.. I have..._

"Ayase-san..?"

The voice interrupted Ayase's thoughts. He got up from the living room couch and looked at the intruder who was standing in front of the front door and exclaimed with surprise, "Kuba-san!"

The named-one nodded as a hello, but did not move any closer. Ayase walked up to him and glanced around and asked, "Where's Kuba-san?"

"Yes, uh... the boss told me to tell you that he's busy today and that I should check up on you before you sleep," he paused. Then, he scratched his head and said, "He also said... um... to give you this..." He took something out of his pocket and handed it to the blond. It was a small box that was wrapped and tied with a big bow that was the same color as Ayase's eyes.

How odd. Kanou never gave Ayase anything unless it was an occasion. Oh wait, that's wrong. Kanou usually tried to buy everything for Ayase and the little one would not accept it unless forced to accept, but... the present now was different. It was.. weird. Not like Kanou at all... one would say.

"That is all." Kuba bowed and was heading out the door when he suddenly remembered something. "Ah, he also told me to tell you to send picture text messages (*) so that he won't feel.. um.. lonely."

Ayase smiled. Now that was very much like the Kanou-san he knew. "Okay."

The older man stopped to bow again and to say, "Goodnight." The blond replied back the same.

Kuba nodded his head as a goodbye and shut the door behind him. Ayase was left standing there with the wrapped present in hand. He inspected it and saw that the wrapping paper had little blond angels flying with little dark devils. Ayase didn't wonder where Kanou got it. He only smiled and thought that this was like Kanou-san after all.

He went to the bedroom and sat at his desk. He unwrapped the box carefully – he wanted to keep the wrapping – and opened the box top off, revealing... a lovely silver ring with a large round garnet surrounded with smaller garnet and diamond gems. Garnet was his birthstone (**). Ayase couldn't believe that Kanou-san actually remembered his birthday. But the thing he really couldn't believe was that Kanou-san had bought him a ring. Seeing that Kanou-san was the type that bought expensive things, Ayase thought, _the gems are real_.

Unbelievable. He shook his head as if something was seriously wrong with Kanou's mind. But he put it on anyway and blushed. _It fits perfectly._ Suddenly, he remembered what Kanou-san had been doing the past few days. He had been taking Ayase's small hands into his large ones and inspecting them and then kissing them gently. And then he left for work. Ayase had thought it was odd, and now... Ayase couldn't really do much but blush and smile at the same time.

_Ah, he also told me to tell you to send picture text messages so that he won't feel.. um.. lonely._

Kuba-san's words came back to him. A picture text message! He ran to the living room and to the couch where he had left his bag and took out his cell phone. He sat on the couch and clicked the buttons that got to the picture message menu and then took a picture of his right hand with the garnet ring that fit perfectly on his ring finger. He had held his hand up to the light to make it sparkle, and as he inspected his picture after typing in "Thank you", he noticed something he hadn't noticed before.

Opposite the side in which the gems were, there were words carved into the silver. It was a bit hard to see but he squinted until he made out the words, "For My Angel."

Ayase blushed once more. He hesitated before clicking the send button, thinking of something else to say. He wanted to say "I love you" but it was too embarrassing. So he clicked the send button and closed his phone. He sat quietly on the couch waiting for a reply, listening to the clock _tick-tock_ all the while.

**X AT THE MOMENT ; KANOU X**

"Boss, your phone just beeped."

"Hah?" Kanou was busy, as Kuba-san (the one who was sent to check up on Ayase) said, and when he looked at his cellphone, there it was: a single picture text message from Ayase. Kanou chuckled and clicked it open.

It showed Ayase's hand wearing the ring. But he noticed something that Ayase did not see when he took the picture. Ayase had put his hand up to make the ring sparkle in the light but he did not notice the mirror that was a few feet away. Kanou saw Ayase's face in it and though it was a bit of a blur since the photo was focused on the blond's hand, he could tell quite clearly that the teenager's face was red. He smirked to himself and gave a reply - "Of course. And goodnight. I love you. Sleep tight, my angel." He clicked the send button and went back to work. The twins immediately noticed the glittery atmosphere and the grin that stayed on their boss' face the entire time they worked.

**X AT THE MOMENT ; AYASE X**

The reply was quick. Ayase looked at the text message and sighed. Only eleven words this time. Kanou usually said more than twenty. It seemed that Kanou was quite busy today. He went to the bedroom and collapsed on the bed. He fell asleep sighing sadly to himself, the ring still on his finger.

**X O X N E X T D A Y ; M O R N I N G X O X**

Ayase woke to the chirps of morning birds and cicadas. The summer heat had rose up during the night and the first thing Ayase noticed was that he was sweating. He got his phone from the bedside table and opened it, since he the second thing he had noticed that morning was that it was blinking. It was a text message from Kanou-san. The third thing that Ayase noticed was stated in the text message.

_Sorry, Ayase, but I'm busy today too. I'm sorry I'm wasn't there when you woke up. I came back to get a change of clothes while you were sleeping though. Make yourself some breakfast. Don't worry about me, I ate the leftovers from yesterday. I'll be back for lunch. I love you._

It seemed that almost all of Kanou's text messages ended with "I love you." How was it that he could could say it.. or type it so easily? Was he not embarrassed?

Ayase dragged himself to the kitchen after replying back to Kanou-san, with no "I love you" at the end, like the older man's did. The blond found those simple three words more embarrassing than letting Gion watch him and Kanou-san kiss.. or worse, doing _it_.

The teenager decided to have cereal for breakfast today. He was too sad and lonely to make himself a full japanese breakfast. He was too lazy to even cook. As he ate, the tick-tock of the clock made the kitchen atmosphere turn more gray and gloomy than it already was. Ayase sighed all the while.

Suddenly, he remembered something. His eyes widened in surprise. _Kanou-san's birthday!_ How did he forget?! _It's in three days and I still don't know what to get him!_ Ayase bit his lip till he tasted blood and then got up from the table. He washed his breakfast dishes quietly and then went to the bedroom. He sat down at his desk, got a blank sheet of writing paper and a pencil, and started writing a letter.

_Dear Kanou-san,_

_Happy Birthday! I_ (and so on, so forth)

It went on like that for about an hour. At times, he screwed up on writing – making spelling mistakes or thinking that what he wrote was too lame or too sweet or too sour... and at times, he simply just wrote whatever was on his mind. The wastebasket that was under the desk was almost full by the time he stopped. There were about more than thirty wasted and crumpled-up paper balls, wooden shavings from sharpening his pencil, and tiny broken lead pieces from his pencil.

He sighed. He sat idly for a few minutes and then got up and left the apartment. He checked the mail and on one of the envelopes, he noticed one name that cleared every little bit of dark matter and thoughts that were going through his mind.

His own: _Yukiya Ayase_.

* * *

**A/N:** Since this fanfic got longer as I typed it, I decided to make it into a regular fanfic, with chapters. So, **CHAPTER ONE ENDS HERE!** There will be three chapters in all. Hope you like it so far!

Ah. If you read _The Angel You Always Were_ before reading this, then... you probably know what will happen.

**PLEASE REVIEW. ONE FOR EACH CHAPTER WOULD BE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED.**

_THANKSHU VERY MUCHES._

**//;SEi**

**Listening To:** I Hope You Dance – LeeAnn Womack. It's on the radio right now.. ah. From listening to the radio, I got some more ideas to write. xxxHOLiC fanfics they will be. Sorry, Okane ga Nai fans...

**ASTERISKS:**

**picture text messages (*) :** If you read the manga.. I think this was in one of the special extras. It was a very cute and funny extra. I'm not spoiling it for anyone~

**Garnet was his birthstone (**) :** That's right! If you didn't know, Ayase's birthday is on January 2nd, or so says my resources. And as I stated in the chapter, Kanou's birthday is July 24th. I was about to make that scene be in one of Ayase's university classes... but July 24th is around summer vacation.. so.. yeh :P


	2. Two Kinds of Luck

**Title:** Only Once**  
Author: **Twelf Bell**  
Type of Fanfic: **Regular fanfic**  
Summary:** Prequel to The Angel You Were. Ayase is once again involved in one of Kanou-san's business fights. Character death. Implied shonen-ai / yaoi ; as expected of No Money.**  
----Pairing: **Kanou/Ayase**  
Disclaimer: **I do not own No Money / Okane ga Nai, but I do own my ideas.

**Warning: **It's rated T for a reason. There is **coarse foul language and boys love**. This is also a No Money fanfic after all. You should know how Kanou-san acts.. right?

**- - - - - - - - - - - - CHAPTER 2: TWO KINDS OF LUCK**

Well, this was new. Ever since he had moved in with Kanou-san, he had never received a letter from anyone since no one knew of this address. If he ever got a letter, it would be sent to his old apartment and it would be taken from the mailbox there by one of the Kuba twins and put in the mailbox of the current apartment that Kanou and Ayase lived in. But this envelope had the address of the apartment he was at. Kanou-san's address.

Ayase looked around suspiciously as if the sender was still around. He then inspected the handwriting, trying to see if it matched anyone he knew and then he tried to remember who knew of this address. No one came into mind. _Maybe it's one of Kanou-san's friends?_ It didn't have any return address or name, Ayase noticed. If it were Someya-san or Gion-san or even...Mizoguchi-san (*), _it would have a name. It would definitely have a name and address_, thought Ayase.

He took all the envelopes – which were mostly bills and the such that Kanou-san was involved in, and went back into the apartment. He put all of them on the dining table, since Kanou-san usually checked there first – mostly for food, and sat down looking at the envelope that had his full name written on it.

The blond wondered if he should open it. _It has my name on it..._ But then the negative things came. _If it is something that I'm not supposed to have opened, Kanou-san would scold me..._ _But what if I told him the truth after I finish reading it?... Should I take the risk?_

He thought for a few minutes and then finally decided to take the risk after all. He used an envelope cutter to open it and he took the neatly folded letter out. He unfolded it slowly, as if the paper would crumble in his hands; the paper seemed antique and very old. When he finally faced the same handwriting that was used on the envelope, he skimmed it before actually reading it. There were two pages that seemed to contain the same information though it started and ended differently. There was no end name. Nothing.

Ayase began reading the first one that had the words "I hope you will come." written at the bottom. He read it once and then read it again and again, his face glowing with surprise and happiness, but at the same time: fear. One of the sentences said, _Do not tell your guardian._ Ayase didn't know what to do. Should he tell? Or should he follow this person's directions and not tell?

Suddenly, the doorway was filled with a shadow of the person Ayase least wanted to see: the one and only, Kanou Somuku. Ayase didn't react quickly and Kanou saw the letter first thing.

"What is that?"

"Y-You're home! W-Welcome home, Kanou-san! I-I'll make you some l-lunch," Ayase quickly moved the mail away from the middle of the table and shoved the letters into his pocket – the envelope as well. He went to the kitchen hastily but Kanou was right behind him.

"Ayase. What is that letter?"

"I-It's n-nothing..." The blond began feeling his fear grow inside his heart, his mouth stammering as if he had the chills.

Kanou frowned and walked closer to Ayase who was chopping onions. He reached for the pocket but Ayase moved away and kept chopping. He tried again but Ayase moved out of the way again. When Kanou looked at Ayase's face, there were tears in his eyes. He wondered if it were the onions or if Ayase was simply just scared of him (as always).

The older man reached once more and this time, he got it. He pulled the letter out and walked quickly away, with Ayase following behind him with a teary and scared face. Kanou immediately began reading. When he finished, he looked at Ayase and said, "This person... is supposedly your grandmother?"

Ayase nodded. The letter, after all, contained things of his past private life. It just _had_ to be his grandmother. But... _my grandmother is supposed to be dead! _(**) _Did Dad lie about his mother?_

"Well isn't that nice! She wants you to move in with her," said Kanou with no emotion etched on his face. "What will you do?"

Ayase's answer came quickly. He had made up his mind first thing. "I will meet her and tell her that I don't want to live with her."

Kanou's eyebrows went up in surprise. He looked at Ayase for a hint of why he decided that, but the only thing that showed on the blond's face was a furious blush. Ayase glanced at Kanou for his expression and seeing it surprised, he looked away and walked back to the kitchen to finish cooking lunch.

Ayase finished in thirty minutes. He put the dishes down on the table and gave a portion of rice to Kanou, and then took a portion for himself. Their conversation was sudden, and it was started by the older man.

"When will you meet her?"

The blond looked up from his lunch and stared Kanou in the eyes. His answer was final. "Tomorrow."

Kanou was silent for a minute and then said, "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I am sure."

The dark-haired man sighed and said, "Okay," before beginning to eat. Ayase, sitting across from the older man, ate his lunch and washed the dishes, all the while wondering why he had sighed.

It was only when the moon had come out and when Ayase was sleeping by himself in bed that he finally realized why. Tomorrow was Kanou's birthday. Ayase whacked his head for forgetting. He groaned aloud.

Kanou had returned to work after lunch, kissing Ayase on the lips before leaving. One of the Kuba twins (he didn't know which, though it didn't matter) had texted him to say that he should return to work now, since the customer was being really stubborn and insisted on meeting the boss immediately.

Ayase didn't know the reason why Kanou was busy. Kanou had demanded that all his work should be finished before his birthday, since he wanted to spend his entire birthday day with Ayase, but now that Ayase had plans, he could take his work slow and steady as always. In his office that night, he sighed more than a million times, making the atmosphere hard to talk in. The twins suggested a break... or to just go home, back to Ayase-san. But Kanou said, "Work is work. I always finish what I started."

In bed that night, Ayase thought for an hour before going to the kitchen. He went to the refrigerator, the cabinets, and the drawers, to get what he needed and began mixing and putting and thinking and turning and baking and finally, sighing. Sighing in relief. He went back to his room and sat at his desk. He got out a fresh piece of paper and this time, instead of a pencil, he took a pen and began writing. The words came didn't come as quickly as he thought it would. There were more than sixty crumpled paper balls in the wastebasket now (added with the previous ones).

It was near midnight when he finally finished the letter that he wanted. When he read it over, he smiled in approval. He took his letter to the kitchen with some tape and taped the letter to the bottom of the plate that held the cake that he made. He hoped that the older man would find it.

He put a cover over the cake to preserve it as it cooled down in the refrigerator and closed the refrigerator firmly. His hand dangled as it still held the refrigerator handle, and his eyes dropped to the garnet ring. _Kanou-san..._

Ayase went to bed that night feeling happy and calm. But in his office, Kanou was feeling tired and angry. His customer was much worse than he expected and when he finally snapped, he kicked the man out of the room. He collapsed onto his chair and then suddenly, his mind went back to Ayase. And then the letter.

_So his grandmother... supposedly dead but is alive – according to the letter, wants him to live with her..._ Kanou was seriously thinking. It was a while - and a whole lot of thinking passed through his mind... before the next customer came in with a calm face, unlike the previous one that he had just kicked out.

Even though his face and speech didn't show it, one thought lingered in his mind as he went on with his business: _The letter had no address. Where is Ayase going?_

What Ayase didn't know was that the letter that Kanou-san had taken out of his pocket, was the one that he didn't read – the copy that seemed to be the same but had a different beginning and ending. But that copy was no ordinary copy. It was entirely different from the one that Ayase read. It contained lies. This "grandmother" seemed to know what she was doing.

**X O X N E X T D A Y ; A F T E R N O O N X O X**

The day had finally came. July 24th. Kanou's birthday. _And the meeting with Ayase's grandmother._ The day started out very bad. The sky turned dark and ominous, thunder clapping like the gods were applauding and lightning flashing like broken street lights. The heavy rain was like hail instead, and it fell straight to the ground. The strong winds that blew didn't seem to affect the heavy rain. The storm caused a bit of traffic and a few blackouts in some parts of the city. It turned umbrellas inside out, burnt trees that were closest to touching the sky, and caused a bit of a flood.

Ayase sat in the car, looking out at the disaster that was happening outside of the large black mobile. The weather forecast had said that it would be a sunny day. Who knew that it would be worse than summer heat? Probably the fortune god. Yes, the fortune god. Mister Luck didn't seem to be on Ayase's side today. Kanou either.

Before the rain and the storm itself, it had been a clear cloudy day. Ayase was making breakfast for him and Kanou-san (who had came home five in the morning, tired as hell) and the breakfast was suddenly burnt and on fire. There was nothing that could have sparked it, Ayase knew. They had crunchy cereal for breakfast instead. It was then that the sky turned gray and gloomy. It seemed like the heavens knew that something was going to go wrong today.

When Kanou left the apartment building, there was a pot of flowers that fell from the eighth floor, and it crashed right in front of him. The person who had accidentally knocked it down apologized/yelled from above and Kanou cursed before entering the black car. As they went, they stopped about three times because something went really wrong, like a black cat trying to cross the street, or the rear-view mirror breaking for no apparent reason, a broken umbrella smashing into the front window in which almost made Kuba crash the car into a nearby pole because the brake got stuck for a few minutes, and then a ladybug being squashed by Kanou's shoe – though this... he did not notice.

His birthday was getting a bad start and he did not like it at all. His luck turned a bit when he arrived at his work building though. But only a little bit. More bad things happened now and then and Kanou just had to say to himself, "Something bad is going to happen today."

* * *

* * *

**A/N: **Dun dun dun duuuun. Suspense suspense. But as always, if you read _The Angel That You Always Were_ first, then you would already know what will happen. Anyway.. uh.. hope you like this chapter!

**REVIEWS ARE APPRECIATED,** _thankshu very muches._

**Listening To:** the radio still. It's playing: **Here Comes the Rain Again – Eurythmics**. I don't really know this song but it sounds really nice. And kinda... idk.. a coincidence that I was just typing about a storm, hm? It's 1:27 AM (Yes, I stayed up) and it's not raining. It's weird, because there was just thunder and lightning before. Hmm. Ah. Now it's playing **Battlefield – Jordin Sparks**. Very awesome song.

**//;SEi**

**ASTERISKS:**

**Mizoguchi-san (*) = **Full name: Mizoguchi Eishou. He's the one who designed Kanou's apartment and picks the man's clothes. He was the one who Kanou asked for when getting Ayase's clothes too – in the manga. I'm not sure about the OVA. I keep forgetting. Sorry. But yes, the pervert guy that is in his forties and that wants Ayase to wear a maid uniform but gets smacked by Kanou in the head every time he holds Ayase's hands and requests that Ayase wear it.

**_my grandmother is supposed to be dead!_ (**) = **Eh. Yeah. I'm not sure if Ayase's grandma is dead. So I decided to make it up and if that grandma – the one that told Ayase about the "dying if you hiccup 100 times".. uh.. yeh, that one, is on one side.. it should be the mom's side, so I made Ayase's dad's mom the one we are talking about right now. Yup.


	3. Three Simple Words

**Title:** Only Once**  
Author: **Twelf Bell**  
Type of Fanfic: **Regular fanfic**  
Summary:** Prequel to The Angel You Were. Ayase is once again involved in one of Kanou-san's business fights. Character death. Implied shonen-ai / yaoi ; as expected of No Money.**  
----Pairing: **Kanou/Ayase**  
Disclaimer: **I do not own No Money / Okane ga Nai, but I do own my ideas.

**Warning: **It's rated T for a reason. There is **coarse foul language and boys love**. This is also a No Money fanfic after all. You should know how Kanou-san acts.. right?

**A/N:** This is THE LAST CHAPTER! Sequel is _The Angel You Were_. It is already published.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - CHAPTER 3: THREE SIMPLE WORDS**

Kanou had made sure that Ayase taken his cellphone with him. He immediately called the blond when he sat down on his office chair. It rung and rung but it didn't go through properly. It was probably the loudness of the thunder or the lightning making cell phone service unavailable. He clicked the end button and sighed. He clicked his computer open and a program showed up, displaying Ayase and Kuba-san in the car. A camera. How smart he was.

He had told the Kuba driver that it was there, and that if he did anything or said inappropriate, he would _seriously throw him into Tokyo Bay._ Kuba-san had uncomfortably replied back and now as he sat in the driver's seat, he stiffened and straightened himself up every time he felt someone watching him. The camera was stuck to the rear-view mirror, so Kanou could see everything in the car.

Ayase was leaning close to the window and peering out at the storm outside. He was saying something. Kanou stuck the camera's sound receiver into his ear and listened.

"It's not stopping, is it?"

Kuba replied, "It doesn't seem like it."

Ayase was quiet for a minute and then he said, "Do you think we will be able to arrive safely at grandmother's house like this?"

"It's just the storm that's making it hard to drive; there's not much traffic. Hopefully, we will arrive there all right."

The blond was quiet again this time but this time, he didn't speak any more. As Kanou listened to the radio playing in the car, he wondered, _So there's a specific address? How did he find out? It wasn't in the letter. _Looking out the back window of the car, Kanou noticed a few things that let him figure out where the car's current destination was. They were somewhere near the Shinjuku Station, it seemed. (*) It was a bit closer than he thought. If he walked, it would be at least fifteen long blocks away. If he used the car, it would have taken at least 5 minutes. But in the storm... it would take more than 10 minutes.

"Kuba-san, are we there yet?"

"No, but we're almost there," was the reply.

Kanou made a mental note to call Kuba once they arrived. He thanked himself for remembering to tell the man that he should take the camera with him when the arrived, just in case he was too busy to pick up or call. It was only three minutes later when Ayase asked the same question again. Kuba said no.

Two minutes later this time, Ayase asked again. This time, the older man was silent as he drove by. He was wondering why Ayase was being so... impatient. Ayase repeated his question. Kuba hesitated before asking, "Is this meeting so important that you can't wait to get there?"

_Ah. Wrong words._ Kuba slapped himself in his mind. He could feel Kanou's glare through the camera. He nodded in apology.

But Ayase didn't mind. He said, "I-It's not that important..." He blushed before finishing, "I j-just want to get home quickly... s-so we can celebrate Kanou-san's b-birthday..."

The dark-haired man that was currently "stalking" his lover, stared with wide eyes at his computer screen. _Is he... serious? Just because it's my birthday..._ Kanou held his head with one hand and leaned back on his chair, turning it towards the windows. He chuckled to himself. Ayase seemed to surprise him in every way. _I guess that's why I love him._

"We're here."

Kanou immediately turned his chair to face the computer screen once again. From the back window, he saw that they were parked beside a street. Coincidentally... or maybe inevitably... or intentionally, Kuba-san had parked the car at a place in which Kanou could see the street sign. It was quite near.

Suddenly, his eyes widened and he got up from his seat, slamming the table with his hands. _Shit!_ He slammed the table again, spooking the Kuba twin that came in from the first slam to ask if anything was wrong (though it didn't really show on his face) and then yelled, "Oi, get the car ready. We're going to where Ayase is."

The Kuba twin didn't ask where they were going and went to the get the car started. Kanou transferred the camera program from his computer to his laptop and grabbing his jacket, he took it with him to the garage floor of the building. He immediately got in the car and sat down, opening the laptop at the same time.

Kuba had took the camera as told and pinned it to his suit pocket, which was slightly covered so that nobody would notice it, and opened an umbrella as he got out of the car. He walked to the back of the car and opened the door for Ayase. The blond stepped out and said "Thank you."

Kuba then turned around in a 360 slowly, knowing that Kanou was watching and that he should see where they were. Kanou was right. It was that place. _I knew it! … But why?_ The Kuba with Kanou said, "Destination, sir?"

"Kusami Building." (**)

The Kuba twin's mouth twitched, knowing just what and where that place was. "Right away, sir."

**X KUSAMI BUILDING X**

"Welcome!" said the man in the suit, who was standing at the entrance of the building. He ushered them in after lightly checking them of any guns and the such.

Ayase had wondered what the Kusami Building was, imagining it to be an old historical place in which most poor grandmother's lived in. But this building... it was huge. It was shiny. It even had guards at the door and door-openers. When he was inside, there was the sign for the Kusami Building on the wall behind the counter lady, who greeted them warmly and said, "We have been expecting you, Mr. Yukiya."

The blond shivered. It felt weird being called that. He held himself to calm himself down. Kuba-san took off his jacket and put it on Ayase. Kanou watched as the screen moved, shook, and then stopped. Ayase thanked Kuba and followed the counter lady who had gestured him to follow her.

They went into the elevator, got off on the 26th floor – the highest floor of the building, and rang the bell of the only door on the floor. They waited a few minutes before the lock inside clicked and the door opened. It revealed an old lady in a kimono, who wore a lot of makeup which made her look young. Her hair was silky silver and filled with pins. One would say she looked like one of those Heian Era women who walked down the street with pale faces, ruby red lipstick, their dark hair forming a circle around their head.

The feeling came as fast as a single blink. The feeling of suspicion. The feeling that you have been tricked. As Ayase walked into the large room, he suddenly felt very small. Very worried. Very scared.

Kanou somehow saw Ayase stiffen. Something was wrong. Kanou knew it but he couldn't do anything. Not against _those people_. He clutched his cellphone so tightly that the Kuba driver heard a crack resound throughout the car.

_Ayase. Just wait. I'm coming to get you._

In the large room, Ayase felt a bit calmer – _probably from the connection I have with Kanou-san_, he thought. Ayase's thoughts were filling up so much of his head that he hadn't heard the old lady say "Stop" and was lightly tapped on the shoulder by Kuba-san who was following behind him. Ayase turned to face the old lady and waited for what she had to say.

With one of her long fingers, she pointed at Kuba. "He can not come with us."

Kuba-san was about to protest but Ayase said, "It's alright. I can handle this myself."

The twin hesitated before saying, "All right."

The old lady took off the suit jacket that Ayase had on and handed it back to its' original owner. Kuba-san bit his lip as he took it from the lady's hands. He did not notice the smirk on her face.

Back in the car, Kanou kicked the seat in front of him – which was, thankfully, not where the Kuba twin was sitting – and it lurched forward from the force. Kuba sweated as he drove on. They were almost there.

_That bastard! Why the hell did he just let him go by himself? Does he not remember who she is?! Shit! Now I can't see what's happening with Ayase..._

Kuba glanced at the rear-view mirror and for one whole minute, he thought he saw a demon rising from Kanou. It was very dark, like a Black Hole, and it had fire as eyes. Kuba didn't look at the mirror anymore after that.

**X x X x X**

Ayase sat down on the couch that was directly across from the couch that sat the old lady. A heavy-looking and old (but shiny) coffee table stood on four short legs between them. Two mugs were already filled with tea, and between them was an antique-looking teapot, napkins, and little cakes.

"Yukiya-kun."

The blond had been looking around the room when he had noticed the men in dark suits that stood behind the couch that the old lady was sitting at, with their hands behind their backs, and right now, he was so concentrated on trying to look behind the men' dark glasses that he hadn't heard the old lady speak.

"Yukiya-kun," she said, a volume higher. Her voice was shrill now.

He snapped to attention and moved his eyes and head a little down to properly face the old lady. Embarrassed, he stuttered out a "Y-Yes?"

"You have gotten my letter, yes?"

"Y-Yes..." Ayase was having doubts about this old lady though. She couldn't be his grandmother.. right? He was a commoner born and through. This lady was pretty, rich, and... _Kusami_. He had never heard of it before. His father's last name was Yukiya; his mom's maiden name was definitely not Kusami. Ayase looked at the old lady and waited for her to speak.

"You have doubt in your eyes."

As Ayase adverted his eyes away and tried to look somewhere else, the old lady took the mug on her side of the table and sipped from it quietly. When she put it down, she raised her hand up to head-level and then snapped her long fingers. Two of the black-suited men walked to the door, walked out of the room, and... as Ayase watched them disappear from view, the door closed and he heard a click.

He gasped. _She's locked us in!_ He turned his head towards the old lady; she had a fox grin on. She chuckled and then said, "Your eyes tell the truth."

She snapped her fingers once more and the men - that were at the sides of the last and middle man, walked their way to Ayase. He didn't react fast enough and he was caught. He was grabbed at both arms and held tightly as the old lady took off her wig and peeled the fake mask of makeup, revealing a beautiful face that was totally not the 80-year-old he had just been with. Now, she looked like a young woman in her mid-twenties, like Kanou-san.

Her face scrunched up and said in disgust, "Take him away."

The black-suited men that held him up on both sides, making him dangle like a tick-tock, and took him to a door that was inside of the large room they were already in. One of the men let go of Ayase and opened the door with a key. When the door opened, the other pushed Ayase in. His reactions were slow once more. The door clicked before he could yell, "Let me out!" as he banged on the door.

As the darkness engulfed him, and silence rang in his ears, he finally noticed that the room had only one window. It was like a jail room. Ayase felt his fears taking the best of him, and the tears finally falling. He walked to the wall opposite the door and sat down, hugging his knees and sobbing.

_How could I be so stupid?! I knew it was suspicious, yet... I played along..._ After five minutes of crying, hiccups began. He remembered his grandma – his real grandma, telling him that if you hiccuped 100 times, you would die. Ayase didn't care about dying, now that he was alone... and full of regrets. He fingered the garnet ring that was still on his ring finger. It looked dull in the darkness, unlike how sparkly it was when he had taken the picture. _Kanou-san..._

Suddenly, a loud crash was heard. Ayase, his cheeks wet and salty, walked slowly up to the door and put his ear to it to hear what was happening outside.

"Kusami! Get out here!" It was Kanou-san.

Ayase shook of hope and tears began falling harder. _Kanou-san!_

Kanou looked around. _Where is Ayase?_ He ran to one door and opened it. No one. Next door. No one. Next door. Still nobody. Briefly, he heard a _thump_. He ran to the door which he thought he heard it from and opened it. It was a closet... but inside, the Kuba twin who had came with Ayase, was tied up tightly and was stuffed in the mouth with a cloth. He looked apologetically at Kanou-san and got up from sitting on the closet floor. Kanou took the cloth out of the young man's mouth and asked, "Where is Ayase?"

"He's in the room farthest down the hall. It has a dragon on the doorknob."

Kanou left Kuba with his other twin and ran towards the door. (***) Misao got out his knife and began cutting the ropes that bound his brother. As he cut, he said, "You let yourself get caught?"

Homare answered, "No. They threatened me that if I did not do as they said, they would hurt Ayase-san."

The younger of the twins just sniffed, but in his mind, he was thinking: _Good job_. The last piece of the rope was cut and then he said, "We should go quickly."

They both nodded to each other and ran towards the room door that their boss had went into. When they got there, Ayase was being dragged by Kusami and a gun was in her hand. Kanou was making a horrible face as he glared at the lady. The twins looked around and on the floor, there were unconscious guys in black suits. There was blood near their mouths and their glasses were broken and cracked. They both had the same thoughts: _The boss._

Ayase was now being held by the neck with a gun to his head. The lady said, "If you want him to live, marry me!"

The blond was confused, but Kanou seemed to know what she was talking about. "No."

"You don't want him to live?!"

"I do."

"Then marry me!"

"No."

Kanou's answers were simple and straightforward. The lady stiffened and she cocked the gun, making the revolver turn – meaning that there was now a bullet that could stay in the gun or into Ayase's head which would kill him immediately. Kanou clenched his fists. He couldn't really do much now. If he walked closer, Ayase's head would go _boom!_ And if he stayed where he was, Ayase's head would still go _boom!_ according to how the damn lady was feeling. So he spoke.

"We're not engaged anymore."

"It doesn't matter! Fall in love with me now!"

"No."

"And why is that?! Is it because of this boy?!"

Ayase's heart pounded loudly in his ears. He didn't even know if Kanou said something. The world was going blurry and squiggly. He was still crying, but his hiccups had stopped – from the shock of having a gun pointed to his head.

"Then I should just kill this boy right now," said Kusami with a wicked grin.

"Che," Kanou muttered. He thought for a moment. Then he said, "Even if you kill him, I'm not going to love any other man or woman after that."

Kusami bore her deadly brown eyes into Kanou. They were turning red from pressure and hysteria. She wanted to just simply kill the blond boy. She wanted to see his blood in her hands. She was going crazy. She now looked like a fox whose brain was more clever than he could handle in his head.

She started cackling like a witch. When she stopped, her eyes turned darker than ever and a smug smile was plastered onto her face. The things that happened next moved in slow-motion. She took the gun away from Ayase's head, and then slowly turned her arm, making the gun point at Kanou. "Then. I'll. Just. Kill. You."

_Boom. _The bullet flew out of the gun.

Ayase's instincts got the best of him and his reaction was faster than he had ever reacted before. He bit the thin arm that held him by the neck, ducked, and then ran for Kanou. The bullet either was moving too slow or Ayase had moved too fast, for when time turned back to normal, the bullet went straight into Ayase's chest.

This time, it was Kanou that reacted slow. The Kuba twins were just as slow. They ran but it was too late. Kanou just stared blankly into space with an O-shaped mouth as Ayase coughed blood after receiving a horrible wound near his heart and fell to the ground. Kanou's mouth twitched and then he looked down at his lover. He dropped to his knees and whispered "Ayase..." , not believing that Ayase had gotten shot and was near-death.

He called the blond's name over and over as he held him in his arms. "Ayase.. Ayase.. Ayase..."

Ayase's eyes opened in a little butterfly-like flutter and they were wet. He forced a smile and with the hand that had the ring, he held it up to touch Kanou's cheek. He coughed before he said anything.

"No, don't speak. Don't speak," the older man demanded.

"I love you, Kanou-san..." He had finally said it. He smiled one last time and let his conscious fade from him.

The blond's hand began to drop and his eyes began to close. Kanou cried, "Don't die on me. Ayase. Oi, Ayase. Ayase? Ayase! Aya--"

But the blond had gone paler than his original skin color and his eyes were fully closed. His head fell to one side and blood slid out of his mouth and his bullet wound. He was gone. Gone. Forever.

Kanou sat there with Ayase in his lap, doing nothing but shaking his head. He didn't want to believe that his love had flew away and went up to the heavens. He didn't want to believe that the body he was holding had no soul. He didn't want to believe that Ayase was dead. But it was the truth.

The dark-haired man kissed Ayase's red lips and then hugged him closely to himself. The Kuba twins bit their lips to hold back any tears that pushed to flow. They stood behind their boss and their dead friend, and said nothing.

Kusami, on the other hand, screamed after her shaking hand that held the gun dropped to the floor when she let go of her grip. She held her face with both hands. Tears came, messing up her mascara. _Horrible. Horrible. I.. I just.. I killed someone.. I.._ She just kept sobbing but then hysteria came back to her and she cackled and laughed so loud that her lungs gave out on her and she simply.. killed herself from possession of the love devil and laughter. She dropped to the ground, with both hands to her neck, like she was suffocating.

Nobody moved.

Nothing moved.

Time seemed to have stopped.

Stopped.

Time.

_Goodbye, Ayase._

**THE END.**

* * *

**A/N:** I didn't really know how to end it, sorry. Hope you liked it though!

Well, it's FINISHED! ~ And all published in one day. I do still hope you reviewed for every chapter... um.. yeh.

**REVIEWS ARE APPRECIATED,** _thankshu very muches._

Also, if you haven't read _The Angel That You Were_ yet, then you should! It's the sequel after all! :3

**//;SEi**

**Listening To:** The radio. Now playing: **Tattoo – Jordin Sparks**

**ASTERISKS:**

**Shinjuku (*) =** Now I don't know much about Japan, except what is said on the internet. I searched up Shinjuku and there was something about the station having three exits – North, West, East.. I think. And so the West exit led to the area where there is mostly businesses and the such.. so.. mhm. I'm not sure about things. Sorry.

**Kusami Building (**) =** Not a real place. I think. I just made it up.

**(***) The Kuba Twins:**

**Homare =** The older one. The one who went with Ayase. Well, mostly is the one who is with Ayase. He shows his feelings quite a lot. He's the one who naturally reacts. If I remember correctly, he's the one who had read about the "likes beer" note on the Hamster book that Kanou had on his desk. Yup. Heh.

**Misao = **The younger one. The one who um.. always.. stays with Kanou back at work. He's the one who doesn't show much feelings and emotions on his face. Stoic, is the word. I think. Or maybe, he's just a rock with no feelings. Simple.


End file.
